BHUNANESHWAR: If you think that the extortionate fuel prices is weighing heavy on wallet, brace yourself for a volley of price hikes this October that will burn a hole in your pocket. Due to multiple inflationary pressures such as record fuel hike, higher MSP and commodity cost, you’ll end up paying more for almost everything, right from soaps and packaged snacks to electrical appliances. Any hike in oil prices leads to a subsequent increase in freight costs, pushing up the overall production costs.
Adding to the woes, the weakening rupee and rising crude prices will also exert input cost pressures, higher for most FMCG companies, led by higher packaging costs. Experts say crude-linked costs account for about 20% of raw materials used in packaging. “This time, petrol and diesel prices have risen quite a bit at the consumer level. We’re likely to see a marginal increase in prices of products in the third quarter as the companies may pass on the burden to the end consumers,” said a Mumbai-based analyst.
While some companies have already raised prices, others indicated that prices will go up by at least five per cent.
Grocery
Prices of grocery products may increase 5-8% taking a toll on your bills. FMCG majors such as Britannia Industries indicated that “the environment is inflationary and it is not possible to hold on to prices going forward.” Echoing similar views, B Krishna Rao, senior category head at Parle Products, said the company’s bottomline has already taken a hit on the back of higher MSP, and the company is now considering price hike of about 7-8 per cent.
Hindustan Unilever’s skin care products, detergents and select soap brands have become dearer, with the price hiked by 5-7%. Oral care maker Colgate Palmolive reportedly increased prices of some of its brands by 4% last month.
White goods
Electric appliances like laptops, TVs, etc. are also set to turn dearer in the range of 2-5%. The net increase will be in the range of Rs 500-1,500 for premium models. While Xiaomi, Sony and Panasonic have hinted at a price hike before the festive season sales to partially pass on the higher import bills, other consumer durable companies such as LG, Haier, and Godrej Appliances have already hiked prices by 3-5 per cent.
CASCADING EFFECT
Any hike in oil prices leads to a subsequent rise in freight costs, pushing up the overall production costs. eak rupee and rising crude prices will also exert input cost.